The Weaver of Dreams
by Teresia
Summary: Serena goes missing...as usual...but who took her and what will this weaver do to her?
1. Prolougue

I in no way own Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi does, charectors that she did not create, i did, as simple as that.

Prologue-

The world of the dream was a strange one, and the sensation of floating through space and time, one of tranquility. The dreaming girls' thoughts were at peace, and the world she walked through one of starlit skies, scented in lavender. If she turned her head quickly enough, she could see the faint silhouette of a man beside her, and if she closed her eyes, feel his hand in hers. Even though she dreamed, she felt herself blush, both in happiness and uncertainty. And as it was in the world of dreams, the valley they walked though became unnatural, the grasses fading into tiled hallways. But then, her companion vanished, and the girl felt concern, which swiftly became fear. The stars became black, and the quiet sounds of the wind on the grass became silence. The rolling hills warped and twisted, curling into glinting sapphire mirrors, which circled her from all sides, showing her reflections of herself, some young, some old, some sad, some happy. But in one mirror, the one she hesitated to face, a different reflection shone. Instead of the short azure hair she was accustomed to, it was long and blonde, bound up in two buns, the length of her hair trailing to the floor, yet not quite brushing it.

The dreamer touched the hair with confusion, then the school uniform she wore, the intricate brooch on the bow. The reflection imitated her, until it smiled suddenly, ceasing to copy her actions. Instead, the mirror stretched outward, as the shadow within pressed a hand against it, pushing her way forward with a smile.

"Serena?"

The reflection continued to smile, approaching her friend, who backed away, but not quickly enough. A hand reached out, wrapping itself around the dreamer's neck, and though she tried, the girl who dreamed could not break free of the hold, as air faded from her world.

It was with a grateful gasp that Amy awoke, clutching her covers to her chin, struggling to breathe in the air that was present in her room. She pressed a hand to her neck. There were no fingermarks. No prints to show that her throat had recently been crushed. She blinked once, the leapt from the bed, running through the darkly shadowed apartment. Her arm shot out, fingers encompassing the phone, even as it began to ring. Startled, she fumbled with it, finally hitting the 'on' button.

"Serena?"

There was a pause, then another voice. "Amy?"

"Raye . . . Raye?"

"You saw it too?"

"Yes."

There really was no need to say what 'it' was. They each reacted in equal ways, Amy thinking the phone was Serena, Raye already calling the scouts. Raye continued, "I just tried Serena's house . . . the line was busy . . . ."

"Darien?"

"I think so."

"Have you tried-"

"No, next."

"I'm on my way."

"Okay. Five minutes."

There was a sharp click as Amy heard Raye set her phone down, next to her bed. Amy cast a glance around the room, eyes sneaking to her mother's open door. Dr. Anderson was back on the late shift this week, having had her day shift the week preceding. Into the cloaking darkness, she lifted her hand.

"Mercury Crystal Power! Make-up!"

The cool, yet somehow warm feeling of water coursed both around and through her, familiar yet startling as it was each time. When her feet hit the floor again, she took a deep breath, cleansing her lungs. Then she headed out of the apartment. Their Princess needed her soldiers.


	2. Chapter 1

The Weaver of Dreams

Chapter One

* * *

"For the mind in sleep is clear in its eyesight, though in the daytime the 

fate of mortals is hidden from their ken . . . ."

-Aeschylus, Eurmenides

Chapter 1- A Thread of Nightmare

As it was in very rare times, Amy found herself cursing tests. They take too long, they distract, they occupy thoughts that need to be elsewhere. Especially when there was only five minutes before the bell, and she knew a ride was waiting for her. She bit the tip of her eraser, trying to focus on the task, but couldn't help but let her eyes flick to where Lita's ponytail was bobbing up and down, two rows before her. Test. Clock. Test again. Clock again. Amy uncrossed then crossed her legs, fidgeting.

Bell.

Within the instant of the sound, two papers were smacked down onto the teacher's podium, Lita's, then Amy's, and each were flying out the door on winged feet, blue skirts flying as they hurried. Another figure was hurtling down the hallway from the opposite direction, red bow in blond hair, which was streaming out behind her as she ran. They met up in the middle of the hall, and greetings were silent as they looked between themselves.

"Ready?" Mina asked.

"Yes," was the agreement from the other two. They made for the door, breaking out into the sunshine. The Guardian of Time and the Soldier of Fire were standing by a car, Trista's, since she had come to pick them up. Raye turned first, Trista halting mid-sentence. There were hurried hellos, as Trista slipped into the driver's seat, Raye sliding into shotgun, the final three packing into the back, clutching books and bags. The car ride began.

Mercury had been the first to arrive, as Raye had continued to call the others. Reaching Serena's house in Juuban had not been difficult, for so late at night, leaping from rooftop to rooftop, and no one was about. Hesitating with a breath, she saw Haruka's car crookedly parked across the street. As Mercury watched, Hotaru ran from the house, looking around frantically. Seeing the Soldier of the Silence not in uniform, Mercury let the waters ripple around her again, replacing her in her nightgown. No one paid attention to her clothing. No one cared. By the time she was to the front door, Mars had arrived, Venus and Jupiter not even a second after, accompanied by the scream of sirens.

There were many scouts in the house, and Darien. While Amara raced her overflowing car, they pieced together what had happened, much mumbled by a strained Rini, her pink hair in disarray, clutching Diana tightly. She remembered waking up, hearing Serena moving, going for the phone. When her mother had collapsed to the floor, she had leapt up, disrupting Luna and

Diana, who were curled at the foot of the bed.

Tuxedo Mask had quite literally broken into the house, using a rose to break the lock on the front door, detransforming as he pounded up the stairs to see his future daughter cradling the head of his future wife. The sounds of the intruder had alerted the rest of the family, who came running in. From there, the ambulance had been called, the scouts arriving within moments of each other.

No one knew what to do.

An alert Dr. Anderson had nearly dropped her clipboard when she saw her own daughter, dressed in socks and a nightgown, along with her several similarly attired friends. Having a personal hand in the hospital, Dr. Anderson set Serena up with a private room, since it seemed that her vital signs were stable. In fact, it seemed there was no illness at all. Which was very strange, considering the swiftness with which she slipped into a coma. The scouts walked through the hallways of the hospital, hearing the intercom calling for various doctors. It smelled like a hospital, the sting of medicinal cleanser and bleached tile floors. Very white, with occasional plants in an attempt to look cheery. Up two floors, to the west wing, down past the sights of tubes and beeping machines. Nurses in scrubs walked past, some smiling gently at the girls. It was room 231 that Serena had been assigned, marked by the fact that Amara was leaning up against the door, Michelle sitting on a chair, and Hotaru hovering between them.

Raye asked, "How is she?" Noticing the crack the door was open, Raye tried to peer through, attempting to get a glimpse of within.

Amara responded, "No change. I got that much out of a nurse. Darien, Rini, and the family are in there . . . we didn't want to barge in."

They shuffled their feet a bit, agreeing with Amara's decision to let the family be. So they hovered, waiting. Mina wandered a bit down the hallway, looking out the window. Lita began to observe a plant idly. Raye paced. Then there was a stir inside. Everyone mustered back at the doorway as Ikuko and Kenji emerged, Sammy with them, just behind. The harsh fluorescent lights made Ikuko's face look paler than it was, and Kenji was gripping her hand tightly.

They noticed their daughter's friends, and Kenji smiled politely. "We're going home for

awhile. Get some rest. You'll stay with her, too?"

The answer to the question was obvious, when everyone began to jostle forward. As Serena's parents made their way down the hall, Raye grabbed Sammy sharply, nearly spinning him around.

"Where do you think you're going? What's going on?"

Sammy gave Raye a dirty look for grabbing him and shrugged her arm off. He glanced after his parents, then sighed with a frown. "They've been running tests. Bloodwork, and she had a MRI this morning. The doctors don't know what's wrong with her. She just won't wake up. The results keep coming back normal." Sammy looked between the gathered girls. "Look, I'm glad you're all here for Serena. Makes Mom feel better. You call us if anything changes,

got it?"

There were nods.

"I've gotta catch up with Mom and Dad. Rini and Darien are still in there." With that, Sammy hurried off, since his parents were already out of sight.

The curtains were open, letting light into the room, which fell in a square onto Serena's bed. She lay there, very still, especially for Serena, with her eyes closed, black lashes brushing her cheeks. The sheet was pulled up to her chest, and her long hair was out of the trademark style, spilling over the pillow and over her shoulders. Darien sat on a stool at her bedside, one

of her cold hands in his, the fringes of his black hair falling into his reddened eyes. Rini was sitting on a small couch in the room, legs tucked up under her. It was strange to see her, since the family had gathered things so quickly to follow the ambulance. Her hair was out of the

carrot odango, instead in a ponytail at the base of her neck. With the appearance of the scouts, and the leaving of the family, the cats emerged from under the couch, warily looking at the door, which Trista closed as she was the last one to enter. Each of them took up a different

location in the room. Mina and Amy near the window, casting silhouettes of themselves in the square of light. Lita under the suspended television. Raye opposite Darien, Amara behind, an arm over Michelle's shoulders. Trista sat down beside Rini, who was pulled into a hug. Hotaru wedged herself beside Trista, sitting on the couch's arm.

There was a little silence, which was broken when Darien said, "Raye, you still don't sense anything?"

They were somewhat startled that Darien spoke first, though maybe that was what made most sense. His voice was rough, and he looked tired as he watched his girlfriend, who lay there so pale.

Raye hesitated, closing her eyes. She cast her senses outward, reaching as far as she could, attempting to find some enemy to fight, some dark force that was striking down their Princess and friend. After a moment, her eyes opened once more, and in a defeated tone said, "No."

Darien turned his head to look at her, and he nodded a little. "Thank you, for trying."

Raye bit her lip, backing away a little.

"Should I try again?" Hotaru asked, referring to her healing abilities.

Darien turned Serena's hand in his, looking at the long fingers and white skin, coming to neat little nails.

"Nothing has changed from last night. I don't think it will make a difference." The scouts cast glances between each other. Darien sounded defeated, and that was not encouraging.

"Well," Mina piped up hopefully, looking at Rini. "We know it'll all work out. Rini's still here, right?" Eyes turned to the sleepy girl, then to the older woman who held her.

"Everything will be all right, won't it Trista?" Lita asked, nearly glaring at the Guardian of Time. Trista did not look up from the top of Rini's head, her eyes low.

"Damn it, Trista," Lita began, "this is different! If there's no enemy to fight, then how do we know . . . ."

"Lita," Amy consoled, coming over to put a hand on Lita's arm. "it's all right . . . ."

"It's not all right! I'm sick of this 'we can't know' poop! If we can't help her, then-"

Into this, Trista said softly, "Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don't know myself?"

"What is that supposed to mean? You're the Guardian-"

"Both of you!" Michelle snapped, leaving the safety of Amara's arm.

"Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help her at all. Sick or not, we can't start fighting. You know Serena wouldn't let us do that."

Lita frowned, but silenced herself.

"Then Puu," Rini asked, slipping out of Trista's arms, "what do we do?"

"We wait. For an option to present itself."

The mirrors were dark where they had once been light. The silver scrolling around their borders glinted, but now the light that struck them struck darkly, menacing rather than welcoming. It was a place of nightmares, with the black mist that curled with familiar ease around the bare feet of the young girl. Everywhere she turned to look, mirrors circled her, her rich blue eyes taking in the surroundings with a fear filled wonder. There were no stars, there was no moon. Only the mirrors that reflected. Into this, the girl who was Sailor Moon turned, her hair unbound, trailing straight down, past her knees, yet not quite touching her ankles. A long, white nightdress floated around her, and she hugged herself for warmth, even though it was not cold. She had tried calling for her Darien. For her scouts. She even tried to henshin, lifting her hand to the empty air, yet her words only echoed in the caverns of the shadows. Lonely and alone, Serena walked in circles, her image passing though the empty mirrors.

"Don't get scared," she murmured to herself. "Mirrors can't hurt you. Nephrenia is dead, remember? Starlight . . . .killed her. Don't be scared . . . ." The words were to cheer herself, but the chant wasn't soothing.

"You're ever so right, not to be scared."

Serena spun, her heart quickening a moment, first in fear, then in relief that she wasn't alone. Searching, no one stepped out of the darkness to identify themselves. "Who's there?"

The words echoed.

"Oh, such a shame you don't remember me. Of course, your last thoughts weren't of me, exactly, even though I was standing right there."

Serena found the source of her strange conversation, reflected in a tall mirror. A girl slightly older than herself stood there, leaning up against the glass from the other side. She wore a dress, black, with an off-white apron across the skirt, her wavy black hair falling to her waist. She turned and smiled, placing her hands on the opposite side of the glass. "Who . . . ?"

"Am I?" The smile broadened. "I suppose I do look so different in my original body. Odd though. Hm. Well, maybe you'll recognize me this way better," the girl said, stepping away from the mirror, her dress floating up around her as she turned on her toes, the cloth lengthening and growing darker, her eyes brightening to pricks of light as a hood enveloped her face. Staggering backward, this form she recognized instantly...

* * *

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Sailor Moon, Naoko Takeuchi does.

NOTE: Well, i really hope you guys like it, i had to leave off there, i had to do something to keep you guys interested.


	3. Chapter One Part Two

Chapter One  
Part two

* * *

"Wiseman!" 

There was the sound of sandpapery laughter. "Wiseman? Yes, but maybe also . . . ." The laughter grew high pitched, more of a cackle than a laugh, as the black robes became a gown, high collared, black hair returning, but now spilling down past her feet in tight waves, cat slit eyes flickering dangerously down from the height of the dream mirror.

"Neph . . . Nephrenia . . . ." Confused, and now very afraid, Serena instinctively reached for the familiar weight of the Silver Crystal, her hands only clasping the cotton of the gown. Eyes filling with horror at her helplessness, Serena continued to back away from the mirror, backing up into yet another reflection.

Nephrenia placed a hand against the inside of the glass, pushing forward, the mirror stretching like elastic at her touch. Slowly, her fingers pushed through the border, accompanied by a piercing white light. "But in the end, Rabbit of the Moon . . . ." Her arms pushed though, long, white sleeves forming as they passed through the light. Her body escaped the mirror's trapping, the gown taking a simpler, more familiar form. Black shoes. A knee-length blue skirt. A dark red bow on the front, a pretty, heart shaped brooch pinning it together. And as Nephrenia's face emerged though the light, it also changed, becoming younger, prettier, with wide blue eyes and long blonde hair, bound up twice, on either side of her head, in a style Serena was very familiar with.

"In the end, Rabbit of the Moon . . . ." The white nightgown pooled around Serena as she sunk to the floor, edging closer to the mirror at her back. The new figure approached, towering over her with a smile. "In the end, I . . . ." The girl pointed a finger at herself, then at Serena. " . . . am you."

The door opened, and two figures were sketched in from the light beyond.

"Amy?" Came a familiar voice.

"Mom?" Amy turned and came over to the doorway, where Dr. Anderson and a

middle aged, slightly grayed man stood. "Are you here for Serena?"

Dr. Anderson nodded, placing her hands in her white lab coat, and taking in the number of people in the room. "Dr. YuRei and I are going to try a new battery of blood tests. We hope something new may turn up." She kept looking around the room, and her placid face frowned a little. "I'm afraid, Amy, you and your friends will have to leave . . . ."

That instantly brought a barrage of protest from the scouts. The cats took this opportunity to leap under the couch, peering up from under its edge, unseen. Dr. Anderson was nearly overwhelmed by the faces that had popped up into her view, desperately trying to back away from the Inner scouts. Dr. YuRei pushed into the fray, smiling and doing his best to placate the girls.

"All right, two of you may stay, but Dr. Anderson and myself need the space and quiet."

"I'll stay!" Raye snapped, in unison with Lita.

"Hold it!" Mina shouted into the oncoming argument. "If two of us get to stay, it's Darien and Rini, not us! They are her husband and dau-" Mina suddenly had Michelle's hand over her mouth, while Amara leapt in for the rescue, when the two doctors stared at the Soldier of Love. "Hey, you know how Darien and Serena will get married!" She pushed her way though

the swarming Inners, thwacking Dr. YuRaye on the back, making it a joke. "Hey, where's the cafeteria? We could use some coffee! Right, Michelle?"

Mina had finally managed to pull Michelle's hand off her mouth, and began to glare at the aqua haired woman, who was shaking her head in despair.

"I don't know about Michelle," Mina huffed, flipping her hair over her shoulder, "but I could use some. Come on, Girls!" Mina gathered her dignity and marched out of the room. Amy reluctantly followed her, hoping that if she went, the others would begin to follow. And Mina did have a good point. If any of them had the right to stay, it was Darien and Rini.

It was a big troop that wandered around the hospital, finding its way downstairs, at last stumbling onto the newly washed floors of the cafeteria. It had been decorated in accordance with the rest of the hospital, white, with sea foam green tiles bordering the floor, some plants to decorate it and make it seem less sterile. Hotaru found a quiet area to the back of the place, a wide window revealing the sidewalk and parking lot outside, cars lined up prettily in neat rows.

Trista and Amara, along with Lita, took orders for food and drink, and came back a minute later, laden with trays of coffee, sugar, cream, chips and a Pepsi for Hotaru. They settled into the long table, passing the drinks and chips around in a circle. The crackling of bags opening was heard, and the smell of coffee floated upward around them.

"So," Amara began, "now what?"

"We wait for the tests, and hope that they show something," Raye said, not liking it. "I can't feel any presence of evil . . . she must really be sick . . . ."

"But there is no evidence of it," Amy commented, shaking her head. "Unless these new tests do . . . but honestly, I don't think they will . . . ."

"Amy!" Raye exclaimed, staring at her from across the table. "Don't give up already on Serena! She's fought so many things . . . she won't give up on some stupid virus or whatever!"

Lita lifted an eyebrow. "That's interesting to hear, coming from you, Raye."

"Yeah, well," Raye folded her arms, settling into her seat, glaring around,

"I just wish . . . well," she shifted around, staring at the table. "I just wish we knew what it was. Then we could fight it with her. For her, if we need to." There were murmurs of agreement around their circle of eight, an empty seat down on one end of the table.

"Either way," Mina decided, "we'll keep our eyes and ears open. If there is some new enemy, then they'll attack. And we'll know what to fight."

"Hotaru?" Lita asked the young girl next to her. Dark purple eyes looked up as she set the can down. "Did you sense anything when you tried to heal her last night?"

Hotaru fidgeted, wringing her hands in her lap, the straight cut of her hair slanting downward as she tried to sift though her memories. "Something . . . dark. But not evil. But still evil. I don't . . . I don't know. If it's a youma, then it's hiding very well. All I felt was the Princess. There was nothing to fight."

There was a moment of silence, and then, very softly, a light voice was heard to say, "The most dangerous demons are the ones we create for ourselves . . . ."

"What?" Several voices asked immediately, startled, but hearing the same words. They searched for the source of the words, and the only one who did not look up was the one who spoke, the scout of Water, who sat on the other side of the scout of Silence.

Amy's wide, indigo eyes turned upward from her lap, and she placed her hands around the warm coffee cup. "A friend told me that once. Maybe . . . maybe Serena is . . . well . . . " Amy trailed off. "Oh, I sound so silly."

"Who?" Trista asked quietly. "And why do you think Serena fights herself?" Eyes shifted from Amy to Trista, and back again as she completed her question.

"Herself?" Lita asked, bewildered. "How can a person fight themself? Amy?"

"It was just a thought . . . I'm sure I'm imagining things. Never mind it . . . ."

"Like hell!" Lita pounded a fist on the table. "Amy, if you have an idea-"

"Lita!" Mina broke in, standing and leaning over the table, looking at her friend. "There are other people here," she ended in a low voice, eyes checking people several tables over, who were staring at them. Lita saw this, and hunched down, lowering her voice as Mina returned to her seat, munching idly on a potato chip.

"Fine . . . but Amy, right now, we'll take about anything. What is it?"

Amy looked at her friends and fellow soldiers, graced with the blessings of the planets. She was reluctant to tell them of how she had felt only a little more than three weeks ago. The depression that she was worthless, that she was powerless. She was stronger now, having faced it. Having come to understand it. But such things were deeply private, and she did not wish for even her closest friends to know. Not about the feeling of despair when your dream is torn away. Not of the sensation of water filling her lungs, and river rocks breaking her bones in the storm. She shuddered at the memory of it. No, she couldn't tell them such things. But there was Serena to think of. And Lita was right.

"Not so long ago," Amy began carefully, "I wasn't feeling so well. You remember?" She looked at Mina, who nodded. She remembered coming to Amy's apartment with Serena, when Amy had missed school. "I told you that my friend died . . . Kami? You remember?" Mina was continuing to nod, urging Amy to continue with her story. The other scouts were watching the blue haired one, and there was the sound of them moving slightly as they did so, breathing and sipping coffee and eating chips. Amy took a breath and continued. "Kami . . . well. Kami didn't just die. She . . . she drowned herself . . . ."

There were murmurs of sadness among the group, and Hotaru put a hand on Amy's arm to comfort her. It seemed wrong that the youngest of them knew the pain of death better than any.

"Kami had her dreams torn from her . . . it doesn't really fit Serena, but Kami told me that our greatest demons are ones we create for ourselves. She helped me when I was so down . . . kept showing me scenes of what made her happy, and it helped me to understand myself better . . . . Like I said, it's silly . . . it doesn't apply to Serena at all . . . ."

"Amy . . . " Trista began, garnet eyes intent on the younger girl. "How did this Kami person show you scenes of her life?"

Amy looked up at Trista, becoming uncomfortable in her gaze. "In my dreams. It was very strange . . . she would come, and act like we had known each other forever. But she knew the whole time . . . that it was just a dream."

"She created the world of the dream?" Startled at Trista's sudden sharpness, Amy met her eyes. The various girls were all watching this peculiar conversation between the two, Trista's intensity, and Amy's uncertainty.

"Yes."

Trista's head bowed, and she looked deep into the depths of her coffee, her shoulders bent as she thought.

"What?" Amara asked, seeing her eyes considering beneath the strip of hair

that fell over her shoulder. "What is it?"

"Nothing. An impossibility, as Amy said," Trista decided with a frown, then drank from her styrofoam cup, as though that was to be the end of the matter.

"Trista . . . ." Lita began warningly, beginning to stand from her seat.

Michelle grabbed her skirt and pulled her down. "Calm yourself, Jupiter."

At the sound of her scouts name, Lita subsided, folding her arms. "I just don't see why we have to pry things out of her every time we need some information," Lita managed, looking pleadingly at the others for help, finally settling on Mina. "Mina, help me out here."

Mina looked around, running a finger in idle circles on the dark, fake wood table as she thought. "Lita is right. Trista, even if it is impossible, I think we all want to hear it anyway." There were nods, slowly, but one by one they agreed. They wanted the story.

Trista sighed heavily. "If this Kami person is dead, then there is likely nothing that can be done."

"Oh, for the love of God, Trista," Amara groaned. "Out with it!"

"Very well," Trista agreed at last. "It is the past, and I do not see how it would harm the future." She settled herself, and the others got ready to hear whatever tale Trista was crafting in her head. "Once upon a time, in the Old Silver Millennium, the royalty of a planet were to have a child. This child was to have the power of death, for all things must eventually end."

Trista looked up to the ceiling, and Hotaru felt a strange feeling begin to form in her stomach. Not quite sickness, but as though thinking of something terribly sad.

"But it was not to be. She would have been the oldest of us, my elder by some few months. In those times, the people of the Moon were still new to the system of Sol, and the worlds were still in the delicate terraforming processes. Those of us outside the asteroid belt had a more difficult time of it, our planets being unstable. Only Jupiter remained in close contact with the Moon and its Kingdom. The rest drifted, allied but far, our own worlds to worry us. So it was with the ice rings of Saturn. The child that the queen expected was stillborn.

"It was known in those days, that Sleep and Death were as siblings, and they are remembered even today as brothers in legend. The eldest was to be Death, the younger, Sleep. When at last the queen produced a child, the realm of the dead was passed to her, and the power of the Silence Glaive. Before a new daughter was born, the Silver Millennium fell. The power Amy described, and the ability to slip between minds is very like what I have heard to be the power over dreams. It was how the lemures of the Dead Moon Circus invaded our thoughts, though darkly." When Trista remained silent for a moment, they realized the story was complete.

Hotaru looked at Trista from across the table. "I had a sister?"

Trista smiled sadly at her adopted daughter, pitying her. Having someone would have helped her so much though her life. "You would have, Hotaru. You would have." Hotaru lowered her head to think, not sure what this meant.

"Wait a minute," Mina said as she rubbed her forehead, trying to take this in. "If there was supposed to be a scouts of dreams . . . dreams, right?"

Trista shrugged. "That was the idea."

"Okay. Then if there was supposed to be a scouts of dreams, why wasn't she reincarnated with the rest of us?"

It was Hotaru who answered, her reason simple. "She wasn't alive when Queen Serenity sent our souls to the future. She was either already Riencarnated, or was still in the afterworld."

There were blinks from around the table.

"Then we get her!" Raye exclaimed suddenly. "We get Kami! If she can get into people's dreams . . . their minds . . . all of it . . . then she can wake Serena up, or help her fight off whatever it is that's got her in that coma!" The only ones who did not jump up in excitement were Amy, Hotaru and Trista, who seemed to actually understand the situation.

"Girls," Amy began, only to be drowned out by the chatter of the scouts. "Girls?"

More talking.

Amy glanced at Trista and Hotaru, who shrugged, shaking their heads, leaving it up to her. Amy sighed, placed her fingers in her mouth and whistled long and sharp. The others were so surprised at the loud sound coming from the usually quiet girl, they blinked in surprise, then settled in to listen.

"Other people, remember?" Amy gestured at the rest of the cafeteria. A few more people had begun to wander in, since it was approaching dinnertime. "Quiet, okay?"

Quick nods.

"Girls," Amy began as she settled herself into her chair, "Kami is dead. She has been for nearly nine hundred years. Dead, remember? She can't help us."

"You can't contact her somehow?" Michelle asked, leaning over the table, her hair waving down like a curtain behind her. She folded her arms over her uniform as she shook her head. "There has to be some way."

"Kami came to me, not me to her. I don't know how. We don't even know if she really is a scouts. We can't jump to conclusions."

"But if there's a chance . . . ." Raye argued, placing her fists on the table. "If there's a chance, we have to try it. We'd be failing if we didn't even try."

"So you're talking about what?" Lita asked, polishing off her coffee with a gulp. She picked a fuzzy off her uniform. "Going to the underworld?"

Dead silence.

Lita began to absorb the consequences of her words, and paled. They had died before, but to actually make a trip deliberately? They weren't Sailor Moon. They didn't have the Imperium Crystal. They had no way to revive themselves if something went wrong. None of them ever had kept their memories of the afterworld. Who knew what existed there?

"I'll go," a little voice said into the silence. Eyes turned to Hotaru, who met their gazes. She straightened herself in her chair, placing her arms on the table and looking defiant. "I am the Soldier of Death and Destruction. And she may have been my sister. It is my realm. If any of us can survive it, then let me try."

"You most certainly will not!" Michelle responded instantly, every motherly sense she had towards Hotaru rebelling against such an action. "That is completely out of the question!"

"Michelle-mama . . . ."

"No! Like Trista and Amy said, there isn't even a way to reach her."

It was Amy who thought of an idea just then, and she offered it. "Unless one of Pluto's timekeys can open a portal into the underworld."

More silence.

"Trista? Will it?"

Trista crushed the empty styrofoam cup in her hands, a bitter look on her features.

"Then I'm going too," Amy announced, Trista's thoughts on the idea clear. "I've seen Kami. She will know me. She will," Amy repeated firmly, to chase away the doubts of the others, and the doubts of herself.

"Amy, you can't be serious-" Raye began, but was cut off when Amy locked gazes with the opposing element.

"Raye, I hope you're not suggesting that I'm incompetent."

Raye paled, and amended hastily, "No, no of course not . . . .but let me come too then. I'm a priestess, I know about-"

"No!" Trista snapped, banging her fist against the table. "No! Hotaru and Amy. That is all. I will not risk any more scouts's lives in what is very likely a futile attempt! Absolutely no more than these two, for the reasons they have stated! Space is my realm, and I will not allow it!" The quiet fury in Trista's voice negated any further argument. "Absolutely not," she repeated, looking each in the eyes. "Such a thing has never been attempted outside of myth. I do not know if it will even work. Nothing may happen. Or they may die. I do not know. I will not risk the lives of any more scouts. That is final."

And so it was decided. To the Underworld, only two would go.

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NOTE: so...what do you guys think? please review so i know if it's even worth it to put up the other chapters. 


	4. Chapter Two Part One

Chapter 2 Part One

A Web of Sunset and Shadow

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It would have been a lovely night, if not for the screams. There was a cool breeze, enough to stir the hair, or send the leaves of plants to rustling. If you looked to the sky, your eyes would meet with the starry heavens, the thick curve of the white swirled Earth hanging heavily in its mantle. But this night was a fated night, and the screams were accompanied by theclangor of battle. Outside the palace walls, great winged starships were landing, one by one, their sails furling as they settled into the moondust. Serena watched all this in a distant stated, floating high above the clashing of palace guards and soldiers of Earth. Her feet were cold, and the nightgown rippled in the faint breeze, catching at her unbound hair. The sick feeling in her stomach was from recognition. This was, after all, the last battle the Silver Millennium of the past would ever see. The fragmented memories she held showed her what happened . . . and still to see it before her eyes brought fresher tears.

"Darien?"  
The word brought a change in her location, her feet touching the bare cobblestones of a courtyard. It was decorated prettily, with heavy marble pots. Silver roses grew from them, and the shadows cut by the earthlight did not seem to make them fade. There were doors, locked, that circled the round, empty space, set between columns that arched into a solar above. Serena turned when she heard hard breathing and the sound of footsteps. Running footsteps.  
"Here . . . Endymion, here!" There was a darkness around the edges of her vision and a dizziness. That was her own voice.  
"We can get to a ship . . . get away . . . ." Out through the empty archway, Serena  
witnessed herself emerge, her white gown flying alongside Endymion's dark cloak. "This one . . . you can pilot, can't you?"  
"If I know the system . . . ." The Prince of Earth and the Princess of the Moon began to fumble with the doorknob. "It's locked."  
"No! It can't be locked, it's never locked!" Serenity was near to hysterical, her voice ending in sobs. "It's never locked . . . ."  
The royal pair twisted at the door, Endymion throwing his weight against it in a futile attempt. As he began to reach for his sword, to hack the knob off, Serena became aware of another presence in the room. There was a girl there, a young woman. She was tall, muscular in a lean way, and though not lovely, striking. The hair down her back was black and wavy, and Serena recognized her as the girl who had first appeared in the mirror not so very long ago. She held in her hand a sword, finely wrought. There was wet blood on it.

"Endymion."  
Serena watched the past shadow of herself and Endymion stop struggling, to turn and face their enemy.  
"Murderer," the stranger continued, her eyes growing harder as she saw Endymion place his arm around Serenity. To protect her, of course.  
"You can call me that," Endymion said in disbelief, "after what you've done?"  
Several reactions flickered dangerously across the face of the woman. Serena felt her confusion from where she stood. She saw it clearly on the woman's face, and within the piercing pain of the moment, felt pity for her. The expressions were fear, hope, guilt, remorse, love . . . and finally hate. Her eyes became ice, and Serena felt a familiar, evil presence, the aura of the  
long dead Metallia.  
"Endymion. Die."  
Serena saw herself gasp, a hand clutching the sleeve of her love. But it didn't seem to matter to Endymion. He stepped forward anyway, and Serena could not prevent herself from trying to move forward, to come between them, to stop this insane dream. Insane nightmare. Before she had moved forward more than a pace, she found an arm blocking her movement, outstretched and barring her path. Serena looked to see the stranger from the mirror, her own  
reflection, who was looking away and frowning.  
The opponents faced each other, bowing politely. It seemed ludicrous to Serena, but no stranger than, perhaps, announcing that she would punish villains in the name of a lost civilization. Then the battle began, the clang of metal against metal, slashing and stabbing violently against each other. She saw her own form, huddled against the door, too terrified to put a stop to the oncoming end. Endymion, for all his skill, was tiring, and the woman . . . the woman danced, her body beautiful in the deadliness of it. She stabbed, and Serenity screamed as it cut too closely, the sound echoed by Serena, still held back by the barring arm.  
"Why?" The woman demanded, sword arching forward again.  
"I love her."  
The sound was pitiful when she asked, "Why?"  
"How can one explain why?" And that was true. What list of qualifications could one give? Was love a market, to be bought and sold?  
"Is it because she's beautiful?" The woman was twirling now, her feet flying in circles as Endymion's grew stilled. "I may not be beautiful, but I'm strong! I would have done everything she would have for you! I would have been just as good a wife!" The final words were torn from her throat, as though they were a plea. But the impact of the words caused Endymion to  
freeze, their implications settling into his mind. She, though, did not hesitate, and the dance ended as her blade struck deep. He gasped at the impact, and Serena heard screams echo in the place, one from Serenity, one from the woman, and one from herself. And it was that, in  
the end, that broke the spell over the Princess of the Moon, and she pushed herself from the comfort of the door, falling to grab him as he slid back off the sword, catching him as he fell. Blood pooled from Endymion's chest, painting the whiteness of Serenity's gown, dyeing it scarlet.

"Endymion, my love," the words of the girl whispered into the silence as she touched his face, closing his startled eyes. The light shed from the Earth was very bright there, and Serena watched herself tilt her head, eyes settling on Endymion's dropped sword.  
"I loved him, too," the stranger informed Serenity. It was her reason, not her excuse. Serenity, who could always seem to see into the heart of a person, smiled gently as she decided her course of action.  
"I know," the Princess told her, and then pointed Endymion's blade at her own belly. Within a moment, the blade was cutting into her, and her own blood mingled with that of her Prince.  
From there, time halted.  
The look of surprise on Serenity's gentle face. The empty eyes of the woman, and how her sword slipped from numbed fingers to the ground.

"Pretty violent, aren't they?" Serena told herself, the reflection in her school uniform dropping her arm, then examining her manicure with distant interest. "Not exactly kiddie fare, is it?" She yawned, then clasped her hands together dramatically. "Romeo, O Romeo, what happens when the Juliet is a wimp?"  
Serena could only watch herself, the expression of loss and surprise that was written on her past self's features. "That was . . . " Serena looked to the stranger, the empty eyes, so void of emotion. "Beryl, wasn't it?"  
"Brilliant!" Serena staggered when she was slapped extremely hard on her back. "So brilliant! You should use those brain cells on your tests, Serena!" The laughter should have been harsh, but it was identical to Serena's own, the reflection being her twin. "Then again, you don't remember everything about the past, do you? Just that Princess Beryl here decided she wanted your precious loverboy, and ended up killing him. Shame, isn't it? That she had to die?" The reflection moved herself to stand beside the statue of Beryl, peering up into her face, then tapping her on the head with her knuckles, giggling when the frozen memory did not move. Serena gathered up her wits. Memories, clear, fresh ones of her life, came flooding in. Beryl sending the Generals after her and her scouts. One by one, defeating them. One by one, dying. Until the four were gone, and Beryl at last had her Darien, under spell and made her enemy. Then Beryl herself had appeared. There had been no hesitation then. No looks of remorse when she had tried to kill Sailor Moon. Serena pulled herself upright, chin  
in the air.

"Beryl was evil."  
The reflection glanced up from making silly faces at Beryl. An eyebrow arched. "Evil? Really? Quite a statement for one who doesn't even remember all this that clearly."  
That unnerved Serena. She remembered this . . . but it was fragmented, the shards of a broken kaleidoscope, the memories of a dream. "Beryl was evil," she repeated, though not so sure this time.  
"Mm. So," the reflection hesitated, looking as though she were concentrating very hard, "let me get this straight. Out of pretty much nowhere, Beryl here, who always looked exactly like she did in your time, popped out of the thin air. Then, she proceeded to brainwash Endymion's guardians, who were considered strong enough to protect him. When she was  
ready, poof!" Her fingers snapped as she walked around, near to laughter, a fake smile and wave. "Poof! 'Hello, my name is Queen Beryl, and I'm here to take over your planet today,'" the shadow version of Serena broke out into laughter as she faced her nightgowned counterpart. "Goes pretty well right along with, 'Would you like fries with that?'"  
Serena could only look at the three figures that lay in the dimmed pool of light. "She tried to kill us."  
"Mm, yeah. So? You think everything is that easy? That there's good, there's evil, and one will win out? Tch," fingers waved dismissively at the sound. "Please. Don't be as naive as you usually are, Serena. If you think you're going to be a Queen someday, you need to understand the shades of grey. And believe me. There are a lot of them."  
Hearing the off hand way it was said, Serena looked at the reflection of herself. "The Silver Millennium will be a time of peace . . . ."  
"Oh really?" Eyebrows lifted, she shook her head. "And at the price of what? How will you maintain rule? Force? Love and friendship? So long as someone out there wants to kick the crap out of their neighbors, there's going to be fighting. Take a look."  
The world shifted, and the Earth filled Serena's eyes, the beautiful blue and green orb where white clouds swirled in the sky. The sun glowed brightly behind it, and in a great distance, shining planets circled. "How many billion people on your world? What's a good number? A billion? Oh, wait, you passed that. Six billion? Seven? Eight? All of them working  
for love and friendship. Won't it be grand? Good thing, that Crystal of yours. Nice, snap ending to it all. What happens to a world without that? Do they just keep ruining their planet?"  
From her vantage point, many images came into view. Crowded cities, corrupted people, hate and lies and pollution in the air and water, ruining the earth, the soil.  
"What happens when too many people compete for not enough resources? Lucky,lucky you, being able to use your pretty Crystal. Clean it all up, real nice. It'll all work out real well, won't it? The perfection of your future, Rabbit of the Moon?"  
Serena felt . . . a little doubt creep in.

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NOTE: Sry about the wait for the update, i've been having some family problems and personal issues going on, i'm sry, it's short, i do have it finished i'm just putting it up sporatically, tell me what you think. 


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